NFL TO CHANGE OVERTIME RULES?

The NFL gets a lot of grief for its sudden-death overtime system, and it shouldn’t. There’s nothing wrong with a tiebreaking system that’s only 10 percentage points away from total randomness. I’ve said before, the best way to not lose in overtime is to not get there, and I’m hard-pressed to invoke pity on a team that can’t get a stop on defense. The NFL, it seems, finally feels differently, as it reviews a proposal to modifythe only tie-breaking system it has ever had.

If it is approved, the rule, called “modified sudden death,” could be used in next year’s playoff games. The intent is to prevent a team from winning on a long field goal without giving the other team a possession, the way the New Orleans Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings in the N.F.C. championship game. –NYTimes.

In a nutshell, it’s the old World League overtime where a team has to score six points in overtime to win the game, essentially guaranteeing the other team a possession unless they give up a TD. Color me unimpressed, and enjoy some other tie-breaking proposals after the jump.

Whichever team has the ball in regulation loses it in OT. The idea behind this is that a team with ample time to score at the end of regulation would be forced to do so, rather than take a knee and hope for the best in the extra frame. Of course, this all goes out the window once teams decide to punt with three seconds remaining.

Bid for field position.This idea seems to be a fan favorite. In this situation, the officials would award the first overtime possession to the coach willing to take the ball closer to his own end zone. I’m a fan of doing this a laThe Price is Right’s “Cliffhangers,” where the referee would march up the field from the goal line until one coach throws his flag, signaling his choice to take the ball at that spot. It’s very World Series of Poker, but it’s definitely more strategic than a coin flip.

Let the damn game end in a tie. Ties, generally, are unsatisfying to the American sports fan. I doubt that the anti-climactic experience of neither team winning for fans would offset the implied benefits of safety to players and predictability to television distributors. Ties aren’t the end of the world, and it certainly takes the flip of the coin out of the equation.

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Leave OT as is. However, I would be all for a Punt, Pass and Kick competition to settle OT.

By: DimpieChimplins

03.01.2010 @ 11:37 AM

Out of all of those the “modified sudden death” seems the most reasonable. Or they could just end in a tie and then play rape a cheerleader to determine the winner.

By: slim shady

03.01.2010 @ 11:37 AM

I hope the league keeps Donovan McNabb abreast of any changes…;)

By: Punch Rockgroin

03.01.2010 @ 11:37 AM

Tic Tac Toe

By: lady goo goo

03.01.2010 @ 11:50 AM

why not NCAA overtime but from the 40?

By: Bloat Dastardly

03.01.2010 @ 11:51 AM

Let the cheerleaders Jello-wrestle for it.

Win-Win

By: shipoopi

03.01.2010 @ 11:55 AM

In college and high school football, as well as the Canadian Football League, an overtime procedure is used to determine the winner. This method is sometimes referred to as a “Kansas Playoff,” or “Kansas Plan” because of its origins for high school football in that state. A brief summary of the rules:

* A coin toss determines which side shall attempt to score first, and at which end zone the scores shall be attempted.

* Each team in turn will receive one possession, starting with first-and-10 from a fixed point on the opponent’s side of the field:

o In college football, the possession begins at the opponent’s 25-yard line.

o In high school football, the ball begins at the 10-yard line, with the option for state high school associations to use different yardage (such as the 15, 20, or 25-yard line)

o In the CFL, where a single point can be scored on a punt, the 35-yard line is used.

* The game clock does not run during overtime; the play clock, however, is enforced.

* A team’s possession ends when it scores (touchdown or field goal), misses a field goal, fails to gain a first down on the final down, or loses the ball by turnover. As usual, a touchdown by the offense is followed by a try for one or two points. (In NCAA Football, teams must attempt a two-point conversion after a touchdown starting in the third overtime.)

* In college football the defense may score on a play on which it gains possession by turnover. In high school football, the defense is generally not allowed to score if it gains possession, although the Oregon School Activities Association adopted the college rule experimentally in 2005, and the University Interscholastic League of Texas, the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association use NCAA football rules.

* Each team receives one charged time-out per overtime procedure (except in the CFL).

* If the score remains tied at the end of the overtime procedure, an additional overtime procedure is played. The team with the second possession in one overtime procedure will have the first possession in the next overtime procedure.

* In the CFL there is a limit of two overtime procedures in regular-season games (after which the game is a tie), but no limit in playoff games. In American college and high school football, the overtime procedures are continued until a winner is determined.

On two occasions, just two plays were required to determine an overtime winner in an NCAA football game. These occurred on September 26, 2002, when Louisville defeated Florida State 26-20, and September 27, 2003 when Georgia Tech defeated Vanderbilt 24-17.

It is possible for a college game to end after a single play in overtime if the team on defense secures a turnover and returns it for a touchdown. This occurred on September 9, 2005 when Ohio defeated Pittsburgh 16-10 on an 85 yard interception return by Dion Byrum. Furthermore, it is possible (but not likely) that the defense may get a safety on the first possession in overtime, thus ending the game after only one overtime play. This has never yet happened in FBS.

The short-lived XFL used a modified Kansas Playoff, where the series would start on the 20-yard line and have four downs to score. However, if the first team to play overtime scored a touchdown in less than four downs, the second team would have to score in just as many plays (for instance, if the first team scored a touchdown on three downs, the second team would only have three downs to score a touchdown). Neither team could kick a field goal until the fourth down. Rather than a coin toss, the winner of the opening scramble at the beginning of the game also got to choose to go first or second in overtime.

By: JOSH

03.01.2010 @ 12:24 PM

The only thing more insufferable than that playoff format is its name.

By: Enrico Pallazzo

03.01.2010 @ 12:09 PM

What Peter King wants, he gets. It works for coffee and overtime apparently.

By: Grimey

03.01.2010 @ 12:20 PM

I don’t know, shipoopi… do you think you can provide some more detail?

By: slim shady

03.01.2010 @ 12:31 PM

LOL@Grimey!

By: Taco_Jones

03.01.2010 @ 1:15 PM

I can’t believe I agree with Punte for once. Make a goddamn stop and quit complaining about the rules.

Or win the coin toss!

By: Taco_Jones

03.01.2010 @ 1:17 PM

Just to be clear, though, what happens if they decide to allow ties? Neither team advances and the team on the other side of the bracket gets a bye? Both teams advance, combining to form some sort of super team?

By: The Sports Machine

03.01.2010 @ 1:28 PM

The overtime rules are fine. The only people that complain are pussies with bad defenses. Your defense should be able to stop a team from getting a god damn field goal. The scoring rate on the first possession of overtime is actually fairly low.

By: The Sports Machine

03.01.2010 @ 1:29 PM

“Tic Tac Toe”

I prefer global thermonuclear war.

By: Fernando

03.01.2010 @ 2:32 PM

I think we should take a page from the euro-futbol playbook at give each team 5 first and goal attempts from the 10 yardline. Whoever gets more touchdowns wins.

Defense in overtime is a joke anyway, why not embrace it?

By: Ricko

03.01.2010 @ 6:08 PM

Just eliminate the coin toss. Give the ball to the team (in order):

1)with the fewest turnovers

2)most total offensive yards

3)time of possession

First team to score wins.

By: Amish Canuck

03.01.2010 @ 7:32 PM

I say that they do what they do in hockey. Make ’em play full periods until either one team drops dead, or one team comes out victorious. I think it’s time to drop the pussy shit that is “sudden death”.

By: Badger

03.01.2010 @ 7:56 PM

Just play another 10-minute period with no sudden death. Still tied? It’s a tie, suckers.

By: Randomman

03.01.2010 @ 9:04 PM

How about a coin toss? The rest is just redundant anyway….

By: SuckitPeterKing

03.01.2010 @ 9:11 PM

Who, exactly, is botching about this aside from the media Jack asses like Peter King, and fans of whatever team lost in overtime?? Let it be and get back to designing the helmets for referees, and creating some sort of mythical “safety zone” around whomever has the ball do they won’t get hurt…